Alfred Chester (September 7, 1928 – August 1, 1971) was an American writer known for his provocative, experimental work, including the novels Jamie Is My Heart's Desire and The Exquisite Corpse and the short story collection Behold Goliath. Starting in 1959, his short fiction was published in magazines such as The New Yorker, Esquire, and Transatlantic Review. His literary criticism appeared in the New York Review of Books, Partisan Review, and Commentary. He returned to the United States and met Susan Sontag through Harriet Sohmers and María Irene Fornés.